Tabloid

The article on Tom Gallagher in Tuesday's paper belongs in a tabloid magazine and not on the front page of what should be a reputable newspaper. Mistakes of 25 or 30 years ago are not relevant today. Your paper could not print the number of politicians who have smoked, used drugs, had an affair or been divorced. What is relevant is today's news, and there are plenty of politicians to attack. This article reeks of Orlando Sentinel political bias and defamation of character. If he were not a candidate, the lawyers would be knocking on your door.

During our interview last week, Jose Baez said that the Casey Anthony coverage taught him there should be a clear distinction between legitimate media and tabloid media. Anthony's former defense attorney said tabloid media lean toward entertainment. "This case, more often than not, became entertainment to people," Baez told me. "I think that's one of the things that piled onto this tragedy. " But it's so very hard to distinguish between legitimate and tabloid media. All media have learned they have to be more entertaining in the Internet age. Just consider: Baez will appear on "Dr. Drew on Call" at 9 p.m. Monday on HLN, and many would say that Dr. Drew Pinsky epitomizes tabloid TV. People magazine used to be dismissed as tabloid, but it continues to break news in the Anthony story.

BOCA RATON -- Tabloid publisher American Media Inc., forced out of its building after it received anthrax-laced mail, said Thursday that it signed a two-year lease and will move into temporary headquarters early next year. The building is a quarter-mile from AMI's headquarters.

The topless photos of Kate Middleton are getting more, um, exposure. The Irish Daily Star today (Sept. 15) printed the pictures of the Duchess of Cambridge sunbathing on vacation with her husband, Prince William, first published by the French magazine Closer. And Italian rag Chi announced that it, too, would run the images in a special 26-page issue next week. Britain's royal family announced Friday that it was suing Closer for what it called a "grotesque and totally unjustifiable" breach of privacy "reminiscent of the worst excesses of the press and paparazzi during the life of Diana, Princess of Wales, and all the more upsetting to The Duke and Duchess for being so. " Today, the palace reacted to the Irish mag's publication of 10 of the Closer snaps by saying, "There can be no motivation for this action other than greed.

Exito tabloid folds Exito, a free weekly Spanish-language tabloid published by the Sun-Sentinel Co. for Miami's young Hispanic community, is folding after six years. About 20 employees were told Tuesday that the final edition will be published Dec. 3. Workers will be offered severance packages and can apply for openings with the parent company, which publishes the Sun-Sentinel, South Florida. Exito, Spanish for success,reached a circulation of 80,000 but was never profitable, said Alfredo Duran, who recently left as publisher.

TORONTO -- A Montreal tabloid reporter who specializes in covering organized crime in Quebec was shot and wounded Wednesday in the newspaper's parking lot, a day after publication of an in-depth story he had written on biker gang murders. Michel Auger, 56, was shot as many as five times, at least once in the shoulder and once in the back, police said. He used his cellular telephone to call an ambulance and was taken to a Montreal hospital, where he was listed in stable condition.

Actor David Hasselhoff demanded Friday that a British tabloid newspaper publish an apology for writing that he was intoxicated and acting inappropriately at a Hollywood nightclub. Hasselhoff denies the allegations, which were published by The Sun on Tuesday under the headline "Hoff is Back on Sway Watch." It said Hasselhoff, who has been in a court fight with his ex-wife, was celebrating winning custody of his two daughters. The Sun has removed the article from its Web site. Hasselhoff, 54, is the former star of TV's Baywatch and Knight Rider.

My fellow Americans, when it comes to tabloid journalism about sports, we are rank amateurs. Oh, sure, we had our shining moment with O.J. and we're trying real hard with Kobe, but when it comes to day-to-day mud slinging, we are still the colonies. Rule Britannia. And in the past week, the British tabloids have had a field day dealing with the extremely active lifestyle of soccer player David Beckham. Clearly, what "Becks" does with his spare time is more important to the Brits than the Royal Family or an improved national dental-care plan.

It looks like a typical tabloid expose: intimate photos of former football star Frank Gifford embracing a blonde who is very definitely not Kathie Lee Gifford.But the Globe did more than just publish the pictures: The supermarket tabloid paid the former flight attendant to entice Gifford into a Manhattan hotel room where a video camera was hidden, say sources familiar with the story.In other words, the Globe helped orchestrate the liaison between Gifford and the woman. Gifford knew the woman previously but had not had an affair with her.Even some veteran tabloid warriors were stunned.

Britain's tabloid newspapers are at it again, and their target is - guess who? - the Duchess of York.The newspapers that exposed Fergie topless last month said in Friday's editions that the scandal over her poolside intimacy with an American had driven her to seek counseling for depression.

The Chicago Tribune is doing away with its free weekly TV tabloid in favor of a new subscription-based magazine. TV Weekly, a bound 44-page magazine, will be rolled out Sept. 30 with a two-week free trial in all Sunday papers. After that, subscribers will need to pay an additional $35 per year to continue receiving the insert, which will be delivered on Fridays. Tribune's Saturday TV tabloid, The Guide, will be discontinued after Sept. 29. "We see TV Weekly as a solid opportunity to increase revenues and decrease costs," Vince Casanova, Chicago Tribune's president, said in a memo sent to employees Friday.

LONDON — If Michael Phelps has positioned himself as the retiring elder statesman of U.S. swimming, on the receiving end of a tweet and a call from President Obama , Ryan Lochte might be edging toward the role of swimming's bad boy. Lochte proclaimed these Olympics "my time" for months in advance, then won two gold medals in six events. He swam his last event on Thursday night and promptly embarked on a media blitz, including appearances on NBC , CNN, CNBC , MSNBC , Eurosport, E!

Ray J is denying rumors that he's looking to make money by releasing a sex tape featuring himself and the late Whitney Houston . In fact, he denies that this tape even exists. "The despicable tabloid report released today claiming the existence of a sex tape between Ray J and Whitney Houston is not true," Ray J's rep, Courtney Barnes, tells E! News. "This story along with so many others have been released to sell magazines. There is no sex tape or explicit photos.

There is something I'd like to say today to the big-city columnists who will be covering Dwight Howard once his trade request is executed and he gets his wish to play in a major media market. He is not "stupid. " He is not an "idiot. " He is not a "chump. " And he is certainly not a "loser. " Those are just some of the caustic, biting words used to describe Howard in a column earlier this week by the Chicago Tribune's resident rabble-rouser Steve Rosenbloom.

A former Casey Anthony boyfriend tried to profit from 2-year-old Caylee Marie's disappearance by selling photos of the child and her mother to a tabloid soon after the case started making international headlines in 2008. Discovery documents released Tuesday include a series of emails between Casey Anthony friend Ricardo Morales and a media organization representative in August 2008 negotiating terms for Morales' story and photos of Casey and Caylee he provided. At one point, Morales writes, "This contract states I will only get paid if the article is published.

An Orlando-area woman has told a British tabloid she had a torrid relationship with golfer Tiger Woods that included sex at his mansion and in a church parking lot. Mindy Lawton, 33, told News of the World that she got to know the world-champion athlete while working at the Perkins restaurant on Conroy-Windermere Road, where Woods would order an egg-white omelet with broccoli. Lawton said she met Woods repeatedly for sex in 2006 and 2007, even going to his home while his wife, Elin Nordegren, was out of town.

LONDON -- To make sure nobody missed its big change from a broadsheet to a tabloid, The Times of London told readers about it on the front page. On Saturday, a notice at the top of the front page said, "The Times -- the last broadsheet edition." Readers picking up the Monday edition read a new notice in the same space, saying: "The Times -- the compact newspaper."

A West Palm Beach attorney who helped actor Tom Cruise adopt a baby has filed a libel suit against The Star supermarket tabloid, charging that his business has been hurt by derogatory references to him.Bennett Cohn said potential clients have told him they were hesitant to hire him after an Aug. 10 story contained a quote calling him a ''baby seller.''Cruise and actress-wife Nicole Kidman adopted a baby girl in July.

When Tiger Woods crashed his SUV, he learned what many other celebrities face. Before the accident, he had been a sports icon who enjoyed a cordial -- if somewhat distant -- relationship with the media. He may be on the cover of Golf Digest's January issue with President Barack Obama. But because of reports of extramarital affairs, Woods also could become a regular in the celebrity orbit of the National Enquirer and TMZ. Even as the Florida Highway Patrol closed its Woods investigation into the crash, Us Weekly reported that a Los Angeles cocktail waitress, Jaimee Grubbs, said she had an affair with Woods.

Rachel Uchitel's most recent appearance in the gossip rumor mill might have disappeared mostly unnoticed if it weren't for Tiger Woods' early Friday morning accident outside his Isleworth home. Instead, it's worldwide news. Two days before Woods crashed his SUV into a fire hydrant and tree at 2:25 a.m., The National Enquirer tabloid printed a story alleging Woods was having an affair with Uchitel, a New York City nightclub hostess. "I did not have any involvement with [Tiger Woods]